


Gone

by saxviars



Category: Persona 5
Genre: M/M, Romance, Spoilers, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 09:36:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18247196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saxviars/pseuds/saxviars
Summary: (This has a slight spoiler to the end of the game, the event that happens right beforet h e event/end happens in the game)A phantom thief is dead. Yuuki is very concerned.





	Gone

             Mishima knows exactly what he was doing when he heard the news.  
            Hastily, he had stopped at the grocery store on his way home. Thankfully for him, business was slower than usual.  
            “Eggs, Check. Millllk…, Check.”  
            He looked around more before glancing at his phone. Not wanting to waste more time, he decided to ask for help from one of the store workers.  
            “Excuse me, where is the flour?”  
            That day was Kurabara’s  9th birthday, a neighboring kid and family friend who seemed looks up to him. With the kid’s parent’s gone away for work, it seemed cruel for the boy to spend it alone. For any kid would love a surprise cake on their birthday. After grabbing the flour, he went into the line. There was a woman with a watermelon, a large bag of rice, and many, many yogurt cups. He sighed, seeing no other lines open. Waiting, waiting, waiting...

            “Ma’m. I’m sorry, but it seems that you don’t have enough for this. Would you like to take something back.”  
            “Hm… How much was this again?”  
 Mishima looked down on at his crossed arms with a grunt of annoyance and remembered the flashlight in his pocket. He put the basket up to his inner elbow and smiled up a bit as he felt the smooth, unstainable steel and flashed it on and off at his palm.

            “Here’s a gift.” Akira previously said, while they were in Akibara.  
            “I remember you complaining about the door light at your house not working, so I got you this.”  
            That is when Akria first pulled out the green colored flashlight, the name of Mishima’s favorite idol decorating the outside. Instead of giving it to him directly, though, he flashed the light onto Mishima’s heart.  
            “Also, because I’m going to steal your heart.” Akira said dramatically. He smiled, while Mishima reached for the light, embarrassed. Even though Mishima knew about Akira’s truth, he never stopped making fun of Mishima for whole heartily supporting the Phantom thieves (it seemed to get worse even). That was a while ago though, Akira started to look so down recently with the phantom thieves’ approval rating being so low (though, Akira won’t admit it).  
            ‘But I believe in the phantom thieves. I believe in Akira.’ Mishima thought.           
            “Next in line, please.” The cashier said. He laid down the flour. He laid down the milk.  
             “Oh,” he thought. “I forgot the sugar. Hopefully there is some at home.” Then his phone quacked, and a million alerts flooded his screen.

            I CAN’T BELIVE HE IS DEAD

           The police caught their leader? Finally

           nooooooo

           Stupid kid, this is what they get for murder

           He got the easy way out, should have spent time in jail like the others

           he was already a delinquent lol, to bad he was able to get this far

           finally the phantom thieves is over

What is going on? The phantom thieves is over? Someone is dead? They couldn’t be talking about Akira can they?  
             “Are you alright, sir?” The cashier said in a monotone voice, her voice pulled him out of his phone. It made him realize that, like the lady before him, he was holding up a line. He put the remainder of the items on the conveyer belt. He can’t remember if he grabbed the change or not, or how exactly he made it to his neighborhood that night. What little focus he had on the outside word was tuned into every whisper of the phantom thieves. Each one, stabbing him more and more.

            Akira is dead.

            Akira is dead.

            Akira is… wait. This could be someone else he thought. What if they got the man who was in charge of the mental shutdowns, and was accused of being with the phantom thieves? He is sure he will see Akira at school tomorrow.

            “Yuuki-ni? What are you doing here?” The boy asked surprised.  
            “Happy birthday, Ren-kun.” He said with less excitement than he wanted, worry still clouding his thoughts.  
            “I thought we could make a cake to celebrate.”  
            “Yay!” The boys says excitedly, thankful for the gift. ‘I’m sure I’ll see Akira tomorrow,’ he thought and tried to give full attention to his little friend for the rest of the night.

             Yet the next day, Akira wasn’t there. He took a separate route to school, hoping to cross paths with Akira where the boy often stood waiting for the next train. Mishima waited, until the last train he could possibly get without being late to school showed. He ran to class, grateful for his athletic ability and landed in his seat right on the last bell. Breathing heavy, he turned around to glance at the back and only saw a sad An, looking out the window.  
             “No…” his heart fell, his world with it. Akira is… Akira is!?

            “I can’t believe it, the phantom thieves are finally stopped.”  
            “Now this school could focus more on their studies”  
            “They killed out principal, they got what they deserved.”  
            “The death of the phantom thieves!”

Yes. Akira is Dead.

The bell rings, and Mishima is unable to hear it under the somber mantra. ‘Akira is dead. Akira is dead.’ He repeats, each word more painful than the last. He stands out of habit and bows for the same reason. He was still in shock as he heard his teacher’s daily announcements, but his focus came back when she mentioned Akira. “…Kurusu is back with his family. Hopefully he can return to us soon, criminal record or not he was the best in our class.” Immediately after hearing this news, Mishima shifted gears. ‘Wait! So, he isn’t dead?’ He thought and turned around back to the empty seat hopeful, but mostly confused.

He tried looking at An for a bit more clarification, but as soon as their eyes locked, back to the window her’s went. He rubbed the tears that started to form, falling first from pain and now from frustration. ‘I’ll ask Ryuji. He’s has to know what happened to him.’

            And soon enough the as lunch bell rang, he was the first one out the door. “Sakamoto!” He yelled a little too loud, the rest the class looking at him. Ryuji look at him confused, before a big look of realization masked his face. He didn’t go to Mishima though, and instead walked hastily out the other door. That confirmed his suspicions. Ryuji walked through every hallway and every turn to get away from Mishima, though it proved unsuccessful when the later restrained him against a wall.   
            “Wow, your much stronger than I thought!” Ryuji spat.              
            “I didn’t go to volleyball practice just to get beat up.”  
            “I can tell. Hey, you and me, should, go to the gym sometime!” Mishima let go of Ryuji’s collar, taking an angry step back.  
            “Stop trying to change the subject! I know you know why I’m here.”  
            “Hu? No idea actually.”  
             ‘So, he’s going to play dumb.’ Mishima thought, fist forming at his sides. They are by the vending machines outside, an area close to the fitness center. Mishima stared him down, the other taken aback by the intensity.  
            “Where is Akira?”  
             “I didn’t know you guys where that close…”  
            “Sakamoto. What happened to Akira?” “… Didn’t you hear? He went back home.” “Is that really the truth?” Ryuji gets a text, and eagerly takes this exit by look at his phone. “Uh, would you look at the time. A classmate need my help and I gotta bounce. See ya-” Mishima pushed Ryuji to the ground. “Why?” Ryuji mood soured as he looked up at the aggressor. He was  suddenly gaining the adrenaline to fight, until he realized that Mishima himself wasn’t moving, stuck in his red haze. “Why won’t you tell me what happened? I run the Phansite, I know your guy’s secret, we hang out often enough? Why do you keep treating me like an outsider?”

“Now your pissing me off.” Ryuji got up, dusting his pants. His body was tense, his teeth clenched. But he chose not to fight. “I will not confirm or deny what you just said. But listen here buddy.” Ryuji points a finger right at Mishima’s chest. “If I was a phantom thief, I would just say you’re nothing but a nuisance who can’t mind his effing’ business. And giant, annoying ass geek who won’t shut the eff’ up. Now I’m telling, I told you all I know about what happened to Akria.” Ryuji started to walk away, before Mishima grabbed his wrist, the grip soft, this time. “Please…” Ryuji looks at Mishima and sees his heartful, worrying look. He looks away hastily, pulling his hand back. “I gotta go.” He says simply, before walking back towards the main cafeteria.

He sat near the vending machine, others coming out to order their drink of choice. Mishima heart felt as if it where to burst. Things can’t end like this he thought. His interaction with Ryuji made him remember how useless he was to everyone else around him. Obviously, he could continue living without the phantom thieves or being their site manager, but high school would be unbearable without Akira. The boy is so smart, a little cocky sometimes, but always makes sure that Mishima could be himself. Even when he is with his other friends, he makes sure to include him when he can. Their friendship has been great this couple of months, but now there will never be a possibility for more… His heart beat faster at the thought, the flood of emotion threating tears to fall again. Forget about his old bully, he knows Akira was the person he truly became brave for. And when he finally gains the confidence to tell his true feelings to him, the one he loves… is now gone…

            The bell rang for school lunch period to end and Mishima headed back upstairs to his desk. He looked at the time on his phone and ended up seeing more notifications about the suicide and the phantom thieves. Then and idea came to his head. If he wanted to figure out what happened to Akira, he would have to find out himself. He needed talk to the coffee shop owner. Out of everyone, he would know the truth of what happened to Akira. Leaving class early, he sneaked off the campus and onto the train. He did the best he could to dodge teachers and police as he entered the empty train station.             
            Mishima hoped he was going to the right location. He been to Akira’s home only once, after the Hawaii trip. “I wished we could have spent more time alone together.” Mishima said, grabbing his luggage from the freight. The others were hungry and went to grab a bite at big bang burger despite the jet lag. They left around 8 am in Hawaii, yet it was only 4pm in Tokyo.  
            “You didn’t have to wait for me you know. You should have left with the others.”  
            “I’m not hungry.” Akria said. He rested his head on Mishima’s shoulder, playfully.        “And two of them raided our hotel room. Right now, I am a bit tired of them.” Akira faced got a little red as he noticed what he was doing, and instead opted to put his head up and fixed his glasses. “I wish we spent more time together, too.” They started walking out the airport, Akira placing an unreadable expression on his face.  
            “Do you want to sleep over some time?” He asked, nonchalantly. Mishima was surprised at the request, never having slept at a friend’s house before, not since he was young as least.  
             “r-Really?!” He asked, a bit too eagerly, the other responding with a nod and a yawn. Mishima ended up agreeing to the request and ended up sleeping over the next day.

(For what happened then, might be saved for another time.)

He walked through the grey streets and found the brown building. He looked up to see the words Le Blanc painting the sign. ‘This should be the place’ he thought and walked into the store. The place was empty, save for an orange haired girl on the island and a middle-aged man in a booth. The owner looked at him, confused. “One of Akira’s friends? Shouldn’t you be at school, boy?” “Yes… But that’s not important.” Mishima walked closer to the manager, standing next to the girl who jumped a bit from her seat. “Excuse me for asking this, but you were Akira’s guardian for the time being, correct?” “Yes. I was.” The barista looked at the orange hair girl, who simply gave a shrug with eyes wide and mouth turned downwards. “He is not here any longer.” Mishima looked down at his fingers, a mix of feelings punching his heart. Thankfully, he is not dead. But now he is actually gone. “So, it’s true then? He left back home…” “Yes, that is right. Now please, get along now. You kids need to learn some manners, walking is as if you own the place. I can call the police right now if I wanted.” The older man grumbled, brows furrowing. Defeated, Mishima heads back out towards the exit.  
            “Yuuki?” A voice call from behind him, a voice too familiar.

Turning back, he was able to see Akira coming down the stairs. He was wearing a white t-shirt, with grey sweat pants. “Akira!?” Mishima jumped back, as if he saw a ghost. Akira picked up his pace from the top of the stairs, eager to meet his friend. “Yuuki!” Akira reached out to hug his friend, yet the other was unmoving. Instead he placed his palms on Mishima’s arms, and looked down to see what was wrong. A warm tear fell onto his white shirt. “I thought you were gone, forever…” Mishima whispered, his multitude of feelings finally getting a release. Mishima buries his head deeper in Akira’s chest, holding him tighter. Akira continues the hug he started, a small smile painting his face. There they stood, away from the rest of the world, their embrace showing all the feelings they had for each other. “Um..” Boss said, refilling a coffee for the gentleman hiding in the booth. The two awkwardly detailed from each other, Mishim’s face still flush from the encounter. “Yuuki, why don’t you come up to my room?” Akira asked, as if their lengthy hug was not so strange. Mishima considered his choices (running away from embarrassment, like his old self would do, was definitely one of them) but ended up deciding to followed him, and up to his humble abode.  
            “Why did you come? Isn’t it school right now?”  
             “Yes, but the Phansite was blowing up, and Ryuji wouldn’t tell me anything… I just needed to know, I was so worried, I-”  
            “I understand that, but we have phones for a reason, don’t we?” Yuuki stilled at the comment, realizing that he could indeed have just texted the boy.   
            “Why, why didn’t you just tell me? Then I wouldn’t have to freak out in the first place! We’re friends, aren’t we?” Akira stayed silent, and instead pet his cat on his bed.  
            “Just in case… something did happen with the phantom thieves’ final mission. I don’t want you to worry.” Mishima turned, and the feelings that disappeared threatened to resurface again. Instead he sat on the bed next to Akira and put a tender hand to his cheek.  
            “I care a lot about you Yuuki.” Mishima felt the heat raise on Akira’s cheek. “That is why… I don’t want you to worry.” Mishima guided Akira’s face to fully face his. Akira looked deep into Mishima eyes. Though his eyes were dark, there was a sparkle always in them, even now. Like the moon, shining light to those even in the darkness of the night. They stare into each other’s eyes, as if a special bond was formed, no words needed to be said. Mishima pulls them closer, their foreheads meeting, eyes closing. “Don’t worry. No matter what happens, I still believe in the Phantom Thieves will succeed.” Akira smiled softly at Mishima at his meager attempt to alter what would be his fate. “Shh.” Akira said, pushing Mishima down on to the bed. “Let’s stay like this, for a while longer.” And for a long while, they lay together, holding each other in each other’s arms. And for a moment, the darkness in people’s heart left one thing unscathed.


End file.
